Deep-well-drilling tool.



,man

G. A. BUTLER- DEEP WELL URILLINGTO'oL Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

` APPLICATION FILED DEG. 3, 1913.

r-Tg

Lirama.

rinirnn s'rarns ra'rnnr onirica.

CHARLES AUGUSTUS BUTLER, 0F OKMULG-EE, OKLAHOMA.

:DEEP-WELLDRILLING Toor..

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES A. BUTLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Okmulgee, in the county of Okmulgee and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new.

i and Improved Deep-Well-Drilling Tool, of which the follow-ing is a full, clear, andv 'ex-v act description.

This invention relates to deep well drilling or boring apparatus, and has particular reference to a drilling device for operat- 'ing rapidly and successively through earth or rock having varying degrees of hardness. Among the 'objects of the invention is to so equip-a rockdrill-vas `to provide for a proper circulation of the fluids surrounding the drill bit so as to prevent the gumming up and sluggish operation of such tool while operating through soft or sticky material.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the drawings forming a part of this specification in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the views, and in which-. v

Figure 1 is a vertical secti'on of a portion of the bore of a well being drilled and with the drilling tools at the bottom, heavy dash lines indicating thick or sticky mud and light dash lines indicating thinner mud or fluid; and Fig. 2 is'a vertical sectional view kof 'the valve mechanism and ,structure of the the general design of the mechanism, may

be varied to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of the invention hereinafterl more fully set forth and speci-` ically claimed.

B way of further explanation of the necessity'for this improvement, it may be .ob-l

served thatin drilling wells with what is known as cable tools 4the method ernployed is to keep the drilling toolssur- .rounded 'with sufficient water to mix up the crushed rock as it is cut loose and keep the sediment thin enough tov allow the tools to drop freely through it. The ordinary amount of water used will keep the sediment thin while drilling about twelve feet of hole 1n o r through hard rock, suchl as sandstone or lnnestone, but in soft rock, such as slate, shale or redrock, with the ordinary tools now used, it is impossible to drill more than Specification of Letters Patent. i Patented Nov, 10,:1914, y Application sied Deember s, 1913. serial No. 80u94. 1

six feet with the same amount of' water, for

the fluid around the tools becomes very thick at the bottom, as indicated by -the heavy dash lines as above referred to, preventing the tools from dropping freely, the Huid re- -maining thin, however, farther up in the well hole'. As soon as the fluid becomes thick at the bottom of the hole, it is necessary to withdraw the tools from the hole and bail out the iuid, and then run in fresh water and repeat the drilling operation. If, however, the water can be made to mix thoroughly with the rock as it is cut loose,jit is possible and practical to drill as 'much hole at each lrun in soft rock as it is in hard, thus doubling the amount of hole per run and saving a great deal of time.

U One of the primary objects of the invention, therefore, is to cause the thin Huid to circulate downwardly through a considerable portion of the drill stem and through the drilling bit whereby the circulation 'will Vkeep the stone cuttings or` sediment well mixed or stirred 'up so that the drill `will drop freely therethrough for a considerable length of time before requiring the drillin tools to be removed for bailing out the ho e. lIn carrying out this object in a preferred manner, the stern 10 is chambere'd or bored out centrally at 11 from its lower end upward approximately throughout one half of its length, and the upper end of the bore 11 is made to communicate withthel side of the stemoby an upwardly inclined hole 12. It will be understood that suliicient water is delivered into the well hole to in- -sure the hole 12 being covered and providing that a column of water or thin mud or mixture will be maintained'in the vertical l bore 11. l

The lower end 13 of the stem constitutes an-internally chambered socket for the accommodation of valve mechanism and providing a. means for connecting thereto the drill .bit shank 14. Said chamber 15 is pros vided with a screw thread 16 which receives the threaded hub 17 ofthe aforesaid shank. The chamber 15 is extended upwardly from the aforesaid hub providing a seat for valve mechanism including a pair of heavy rubber gaskets 18 and 19 between which are fitted a pair of plates 20 and 21, said plates being held in definite position by 'said gaskets, the gaskets lilling the recess or chamber sufliciently tightly to maintain the valve mechanism in position even though the drill bit be removed from the shank socket. rIvhe plate-2O includes an annular valve seat 20 against which the valve 22 is seated upwardly and there maintained normally by means of a spring 23 seated at its lower end upon a bridge 24 carried by the lower plate 21. The stem bore 11`leads to said valve through the upper gasket 1S.

.The drill bit 25 is so constructed that its shank central bore 26 leading from the valve mech- 14 is provided with .a substantially anism through the lower gasket 19. Said, bore 26, however, at its lower end communi- Cates with a pipe or tube 27 leading down-v wardly along one face of the bit 25 and has'` its lower end open and adapted to discharge close to the cutting edge 25 of the bit. Saidf tube 27 is held in place at its lower endV closely adjacent the bit by means of a` keeper 28. Having mechanism, the manner of operation may be thus set forth a description of the'y brieiy described as follows: A certain quan-l tity of clear water being introduced into the hole being drilled, the drilling tool will be operated in the usual manner and allowed to drop to the bottom of the hole acting upon the rock at such point. Water or thin iiuid mixture will enter the hole 12 and lill the bore 11. The percussion due to the striking of the drill bit against the bottom of the hole will cause a portion of the column of water filling the bore 11 to pass downwardly past the valve, filling the bore 26 and space below the valve mechanism, more water en-. tering the bore 11 to take its place from the outside of the drill stem. When the drilling tool is lifted for a subsequent drop, the valve will open by suction, allowing the water to pass freely downwardly from the bore 11, whereby upon the subsequent down stroke the water delivered through the bore 26 and tube 27 will be forced upwardly around the drill bit insuring complete circulation. In addition to the spring 23 serving to hold the valve normally closed, it acts as a cushion for the valve at the time of the impact 'of the drill bit. It will be also noted that the gaskets 18 and 19 t snugly against the upper end of the hub 17 and prevent sand or 'sediment from getting into the 1. In deep well drilling apparatus, the combination of a drill stem having a vertical bore extending therethrough from the lower end thereof and a lateral hole leading through the side of the stem and communieating with the upper end of said bore, said A v stem furthermore being provided with a socket at its lower end providing a valve seat, a drill bit secured in said socket for operation through said stem, said drill bit being providedvwith a passageway for water or fluid leading from said chamber down adjacent the cutting edge of the bit, and valve mechanism mounted in the upper end of said chamber and serving to insure the circulation of water or fluid downwardly through said bore and passageway, said ,mechanism comprising a pair of solid rubber gaskets fitted in said socket, a pair of metallic plates located between said gaskets and-held in position thereby, one of said plates constituting a valve seat and the other of the plates having a bridge extending across it spaced from said valve seat, a valve mountedbe'tween said bridge and the valve seat, and a spring bearing at one end against the bridge and at the other end against the valve.

2. In deep well drilling apparatus, combinationv of a drill bit stem having a socket extending upwardly from its lower end and a vertical bore extending from said socket upwardly throughout a considerablel portion of said stem and communicating with the outside of the stem through a lateral bore, a drill bit having a shank with a threaded hub secured in said stem socket, said drill, bit shank having a vertical bore leading therethrough from the .upper end of said socket, means to deliver water from said tank bore .adjacent the cutting edge of the drill bit, and valve mechanism secured within said socket above the upper end of said hub, said Valve serving to prevent the upward movement of the water through the drill stem and comprising a pair of rigid plates having a central tubular projection, one of the projections extending into the other and constituting a valve seat, the other of said ianges being provided with a transverse bridge spaced from rthe valve seat, a valve located between the valve seat and the bridge, and a spring acting upon the valve tending to maintain the valve seated against the valve seat.

3. In deep well drilling apparatus, the combination-of a stem having means for delivering water downwardly therethrough, the lower end of the stem being providedv with a socket, a drill bit detachably. connected to said stem through a hub entering said socket, said bit being provided with a central bore leading downwardly therether` nism secured in said socket above the drill bit huh, said mechanism including a pair of plates, one of the plates constituting a valve name to this specification in the seat, a -valve normally seated therein, retwo subscribing Witnesses..v

' lCHARLES AUGUSTUS BUTLER.

' 'silient supporting means acting between 5 4said valve and the other .of said plates, and' iesilient. means supporting the valve plates 1n position. A l

Witnesses:

L. H. D. COOK, CHARLES R. Risen.`

In testimonj whereof" I have signed `my presence of 

